Method and apparatus for making knitted fabrics



Sept. 9, 1941. D. P. MOORE I METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING KNITTED FABRICS Filed April 10, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 9, 1941. A D. P. M OORE METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING KNITTED FABRICS Filed April 10, 1939 2 Shgets-Sheet 2 ziv/I/I/ Patented Sept. 9, 1941 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING xm'r'rnn memos David Pelton Moore, Avon Park, Fla, assignor to Arthur B. Carton, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application April 10, 1939, Serial No. 267,107

31 Claims. (01. 66--9) Thepresent invention relates to improvements in methods and apparatus for making knitted fabrics, this particular application being similar in the main to the application filed August 12, 1937, Serial No. 158,668, allowed November 16, 1937, and abandoned November 16, 1938, without revival or renewal, as provided under the rules.

One object of the invention is the provision of a method of knitting wherein the final product has the two faces thereof formed by short loose 1 0 fibers, which fully clad the knitted web of the fabric which at no time constitutes the face of the front or back of the fabric.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a knitting machine in which short loose fibers are so knitted in with the basic web of the fabric during th knitting thereof as to produce a reinforced knitted fabric, which can be vigorously fulled and then napped and sheared to produce a well clad knitted pile, or a loosely or tightly felted fabric.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a coordinated fiber feeding attachment and a knitting machine, in which the fibers are laid in an overlapping relation in the hooks of the needles just previous to the knitting operation, or the formation of the stitch, so that such overlapping portions of the fibers are knitted in firmly with the stitch that permits vigorous fulling and napping of the fabric, particularly upon its faces.

Still another object of the invention is the provision in the apparatus of an additional mechanism, which after the stitch has been formed, the then loose fibers carried by the needles are brushed to the outer side of the cylinder and placed in parallel overlapping relation upon the outer faces of the shanks of the needles to produce in the fabric at the next stitch a covering of the back of the fabric, which when the fabric is vigorously fulled and napped, completely hides the knitted formation of the fabric on the back, while the face also hides the knitted formation, thus producing in a knitted fabric a reinforced knitted pile or other type of fabrics, in which the basic web is not touched in the napping, and is fully clad entirely by the loose short fibers.

Still another object of the. invention is the provision of a method of making a knitted fabric,

wherein a closely knitted fabric with ribs formedby' short loose fibers knitted in with the base yarn are formed on the face at right angles to the wales of the fabric, and which may be finished to present the originally knitted fabric, a pile, a felted and a napped effect on both faces, as may be desired.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of a portion of a rotary cylinder latch needle knittin machine, and a portion of the fiber feeding device, with the several mechanisms for making the clothed knitted fabric.

Figure 2 is a front elevation taken in the direction of the arrows 2-2, Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a. side view elongated in a more or less diagrammatic manner to illustrate the cam.

and needle mechanism employed to make this fabric.

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional and diagrammatical view of the fiber feeding brush, the needles and the adjacent parts that hold the latch down while the needle is being filled, and against upward movement of the needle, due to any tend- .ency of the brush to lift the needle, such view being taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Figure 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Figure 6 is a section on line 6--6 of Fig. 3.

Figure 7 is a section on line 'l-'| of Fig. 3.

Figure 8 is a section adjacent to the tops of the needles and looking downwardly above the element 35 of Fig. 9.

Figure 9 is a section taken on line 9-9, of Fig. 3.

Figure 10 is a section on line Ill-I0 of Fig. 8.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral l0 designites the base plate of a rotary cylinder latch needle knitting machine, in which a needle carrying cylinder 1 I is mounted.

The cylinder is provided with usual needle grooves l2, having the ridges l3 projecting exteriorly thereof, and whichas will later appear form a gear rack.

The cylinder is provided upon its lower rim with a gear rack H, driven by a gear l5, as usual, except that for the present invention, the width of the rack and the gear is increased to withstand the extra work placed upon the machine, in oper-.

ating one or more fiberfeeding attachments, not shown, but of which is shown the fiber feeding brush iii, of such machine or attachment, which i operated, not shown, by a gearing mechanism meshing with and driven from the rack ll.

Latch needles H are here shown, but this is only indicative of one type that can be used. I

These needles are each provided with the cam engaging abutment l8, the hook l9 and a latch 20. 'As each needle is mounted and carried in its groove [2, to have a straight line movement up and down, and as the needles in this particular instance must perform additional functions, other than the usual stitching or knitting at theknitting cam 2|, the description will follow the operation from the feeding of the fibers from the brush IE to the final knitting inof such fibers in the fabric.

Therefore, as the needle approaches the brush, 1

its shoulder or abutment I8 is riding upon the upper surface of the cam 22, to be elevated by the portion 23, so that the hook. I9 is raised to enter the peripheryof the brush l6, and travel thereacross. At the same time, as the needle was being elevated, there had to be insurance that the latch 20 would not close and also that the loop 24 of the fabric F would be in its "take-up held position, as the latch unless thus held, will have a tendency to be closed by the impact thereof with the upwardly moving brush a curved latchengaging strip 25 is provided. Also it was necessary to provide means that would prevent the brush from lifting the needle while the tufts of fibers 25 were being brushed in to its hook, and this was accomplished by the strip26 held above and in spaced relation to the cam 23. In this manner, the latch is held down, the loop 24 is also in its down position, while the needle is held against lifting action by the brush. In this manner, the needle passes across the upwardly revolving brush, and is fed its fiber capacity, in the form of the upstanding tuft taken from the brush l6.

To provide a means to cause these upstanding tufts of needle carried fibers to be held securely during their passage from the brush Hi to the knitting cam 2|, and to also insure the best-possible compact knitted-fabric, a curved plate 26, adjustably mounted and held in place by the screw-and-slot connections 21 is provided. This plate is provided with an apron 28 upon and at right angles to its inner edge, and has its mouth end near the brush I6 flared as at 29, the underside of the plate 26' being adjusted so that there is a fraction of an inch clearance between its the held portion of the tuft, the various tufts take-up, not shown, holds the loops well down upon shanks of the needles until the needles again approach the inclined part of the abutment controlling cam of the knitting machine, this untwisted yarn is ready as it approaches the knitting cam 2| to be carried up with the loops and be knitted into with the next loop formed by the cam at this time. The tufts thus acted upon are caused to cover the knitted web or base of the fabric upon-both faces thereof, the portions of the tufts or short loose fibers upon the inner face, with latch needle machines, are so brushed and knitted in as to present transverse rows of rolls, which when the fabric is splitto lie fiat, are at right angles to the normal needle wales of the fabric. I

In order toassist the take-up and to insure the positioning of the loop 24 in its lowermost position, or in the position that the take-up would normally insure, a curved support 34, dotted lines Figs. 1 and 9, may be used, the rotating disk being so disposed as to have its peripheral edge adjacent the needles and cylinder bear against the upper edge of the loops and thus push them downwardly. Also to insure the loops against upward movement with the needles, as the needles approach the part 25, a gear 36, carried in a supporting bracket 3'|, is so mounted as regards the cylinder as to have its teeth mesh with and be rotated by the shanks of the needles Should it be desired not to fully clothe the rear face of the fabric, the brushes .30 and 32 need not be used, and this will produce such afabric as is set forth in U. S. Letters Patent Nos. 1,791,-,

741 and 1,994,482, in neither of which cases is the back of the fabric clothed so that the 'basic yarn forming the supporting web is entirely or wholly encased with the short loose fibers formhave been matted into a sort of loose roll or untwisted yarn to be knitted into the fabric.

Each needle is thus carried in the same position from the time that it enters the brush l6 until it arrives at the knitting cam 2|. At this point, it is carried downwardly at a rather sharp angle, as the forward edge of the camis very abrupt, and this is done to prevent the needle from having too great resistance on the yarn carried in the succeeding needle, which at this point is merely acting as a guide for the yarn and permits the yarn to be drawn therethrough a limited distance by the preceding needle whose preceding needle is holding tightly to its yarn, which has been knitted" to form the loop and has rounded the apex 2|" of the cam 2| and is starting upwardly by means of the exit incline 2l ofthecam2l.

As the needle leaves the incline 2|, its abutment is engaged by the portion 29' of the elevating cam, so that the hooks are slightly raised above the upper edge of the cylinder, at which point, the rotating brush 30 rotating outwardly, rides upon the upper ends of the needles and smooths the free ends of the fibers outwardly between the shanks of the needles, and in a position, as the elevated portion 3| of the cam continues the upward movement of the needles, so that when the needles pass the adjustable but stationary wiping brush 32, those outstandmg fibers are brushed-backwardly or rearwardly upon the shanks of the succeeding needles to form a matted or untwisted yarn 33 upon the shanks of theneedles exteriorly of the cylinder. As the ing the two faces of thefabric as in the present instance.

The brush 30, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is adjustably and removably mounted upon the inner end of the shaft 38, journaled in a double bearing 39. v This bracket is pivoted by means of the ver- T needles.

tical shaft 40, to a main supporting frame 4|,

having a base 42 adjustab-ly attached by the fixed pivoting bolt 43, to the base plate of the knitting machine. A bolt-and-slot 44, provides a means to permit the base to swing on the pivot 43, to effect the desired adjustment of the drive gear 45, carried upon the lower end'of the shaft 40, and meshing with the ridges |3 of the cylinder, so that as the needle cylinder is revolved, the gear 45 is revolved and in turn through the miter gears 46 and 41 impart rotation to the shaft 38 and the brush 30. This'brush is also adjusted independently so as to give greater or less brushing action to the fibers, throughthe medium of the bolt-and-slot connection 48.

To adjustably mount the wiping brush 32,it is carried in the shank 49 having a bolt-andslot connection 50, with the frame 4|. Also to lift and hold-the frame 4| in various vertical positions, shims may beplaced between it and the base plate of the knitting machine.

In order that a more compact rear face may be provided and also provide a facethat will'be heavier and give a better pile effect, the brush 5| may be utilized, and be driven through the gears 52 from the shaft 38, so as to rotate upwardly and inwardly, wiping the free ends of the fibers inwardly and between theshanks of the This brush can also be made in the form of a set of rotary fingers or single wires,

' fabric.

terdigitate with relation to the shanks of the needles as they pass, one at a time, between the needles and thus insure the proper positioning of the fibers that form the untwisted yarn upon the outer portions of the shanks of the needles.

With this arrangement of attachments, various fabrics can be made on thismachine. .That is, without the brush 30 and the other wipers or brushes, a fabric with a not so fully clothed back but with a decided pile face will result. With the brush 30, only a-slightly ribbed effect on the face and a fluffy and clothed rear face will result. With the brush 30 and the wiper 32, a well clothed rear face and a front face with transverse ribs that can be napped and sheared to produce a pile, a softfiuffy blanket face, or a felted face can be produced. With the addition of the brush a greater packing of the short fibers in the fabricwill result, while all of the other types can be made also.

By or with any of these attachments, a fabric, which can be fulled vigorously to secure or obtain a substantially close non-stretchable knitted fabric can be produced.

Also where desired, a second yarn can be delivered to every third or fourth needle just after the brush 5|, so that this yarn is attached to the fabric at each point with a short intervening piece interposed so that there is provided a means to lessen the transverse stretching of the This yarn, when the fabric is knitted and finished, is embedded in the short loose fibers on either face of the goods, so as not to be observable.

What is claimed is:

1. A fabric knitting machine, including in combination a rotating cylinder knitting ma-.

chine, a fiber feeding device having a brush to wipe the fibers into the needles as needles pass through the brush, and means to lay the fibers in an overlapping relation after they leave the brush to be delivered to the knitting point of the knitting machine.

'2. A fabric knitting machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein there is provided means for laying the fibers that are still free after passing the knitting point to provide an untwisted yarn or mat for covering the rear face of the fabric.

position for delivery in such position to the knitting point.

6. A fabric knitting machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein means is provided for wiping the fibers after knitting toward the outer side of the cylinder between the needles, means for laying such wiped fibers in overlapping relation to each other upon the outer faces of the shanks of the needles, and means for wiping the loose ends of such laid fibers inwardly between the needles.

'7. A fabric knitting machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the laying means consists of a curved bridging plate that permits the needles to ride below so that the free ends of the held tufts of fibers engage the underside of the plate and are wiped rearwardly and downwardly.

8. A fabric knitting machine ,as claimed in claim 1, in which a rotating brush driven from the knitting machine wipes the free ends of the fibers after passing the knitting point of the machine to cause them to be brushed toward and to lay exteriorly of the cylinder.

9. A fabric knitting machine as claimed in claim 1, in which a rotary brush driven from the knitting machine wipes theends of the fibers outwardly after passing the knitting point, and a fixed brush wipes the thus outwardly extended 'portions of the fibers rearwardly upon the shanks of the needles to form an untwisted yarn or matted bat of the fibers.

10. A fabric knitting machine as claimed in claim 1, in which a rotarybrush driven from the knitting machine wipes the free ends of the fibers outwardly after passing the knitting point, a fixed brush wipes the thus outwardly extended portions of the fibers rearwardly upon the shanks of the needles to form an untwisted yarn, and a second rotary member interdigitates with the needles to wipe the free ends of the fibers inwardly between the shanks of the needles.

11. A fabric knitting machine, including in combination a rotary cylinder knitting machine, a fiber feeding attachment having a brush to feed fibers into the hooks of the needles carried by the cylinder and operated in synchrony with 3. A fabric knitting machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein means is provided for wiping the fibers after knitting toward the outer side of the cylinder between the needles, and means for laying such wiped fibers in overlapping relation to each other upon the outer faces of the shanks of the needles.

4. A fabric knitting machine, including in combination a rotating cylinder knitting machine having a plurality of slidable needles carried thereby, a cam for controlling the position of the hooks of the needles with relation to the upper surface of the cylinder during the rotation of thecylinder, a fiber feeding attachment having a brush to wipe the fibers into the hooks the cylinder, and a second fiber engaging brush disposed to move and to wipe the free ends of the fibers knitted in with the yarn and acting after the knitting point to wipe the free ends of the fibers outwardly, said brush being operated in synchrony with the cylinder.

12. A fabric knitting machine as claimed in claim 11, wherein an adjustable wiper is dis;- posed to act upon the thus wiped fibers to lay the free ends against the shanks of the needles. 13. A fabric knitting machine as claimed in claim 11, wherein an adjustable wiper is disposed to act upon the thus wiped fibers to lay their free ends against the shanks of the needles, and a second rotary fiber engaging member moving inwardly to engage and wipe the free ends of the-thus placed fibers inwardly between the shanks of'the needles, such member being operated in synchrony with the second fiber en gagingmeans.

15. Afabric knitting machine as claimed in claim 11, wherein means is mounted to set the fibers fed to the needles by the brush of the fiber feeding attachment outwardly at a point in advanceof the action of the knitting cam.

16. A fabric knitting machine, including in combination a rotating cylinder knitting machine, a fiber feeding device having a brush to wipe the fibers into the needles as they pass therethrough, and means for laying the free ends of the fibers after passing the knitting point to provide an untwisted yarn or mat for covering the rear face of the fabric.

17. A fabric knitting machine as claimed in claim 16, wherein means is provided for wiping the last formed untwisted yarn so that the free ends of the fibers therein will be extended between the needles toward the center of the cylinder.

18. The herein described method of making a knitted fabric, which consists in wiping into the open hooks of the knitting needles in transit short loose fibers just previous to the base yarn being taken into said hooks, knitting in such fibers and yarn to form a combined yarn and loose fiber loop on the shank of each needle, wiping the free ends of the thus held fibers so that they encompass the shanks of the needles,

- and knitting these last held fibers into the fab- I circular machine knitted fabric, which consists of wiping short loose fibers into the hooks of the needles of a knitting machine previously to the knitting operation and just before the yarn enters the hook of the needle, laying the free. ends of the thus held fibers in a direction opposed to the direction of movement of the needle cylinder to form an untwisted yarn or mat of such fibers," and knitting the base yarn in with the fibers thus held and formed.

20. The method of making a knitted fabric as claimed in claim 19, wherein while just after; the fibers are knitted in their free ends are wiped outwardly of the needle cylinder to present certain of the free ends thereof upon the rear face cassava to provide a covering for the rear face of the fabric; and so that when the fabric is fulled,

napped and sheared, the basic yarn will be clothed entirely by the loose fibers.

24. A fabric knitting machine including in combination a rotary cylinder circular knitting machine, needles carried by the cylinder thereof, a fiber feeding attachment having a. rotary fiber feeding brush to wipe short loose fibers from the,

attachment into the hooks of the needles Just previous to the knitting point of the machine. and a fiber setting device acting in a direction opposed to the movement of the fiber feeding brush and after the needles have passed the a brush rotated in a direction opposed to the rotaand at a point beyond the knitting point, and

means for driving the same from the machine and rotating the fiber setting brush in an opposite direction to the fiber feeding brush.

27. A fabric knitting machine including in combination a knitting machine having a rotatable needle carrier and means for making a knitted web, means for delivering to the hooks position they are wiped inwardly of the needle cylinder to provide a substantially untwisted yarn exeriorly of and upon the shanks of the needles.

22. The method of making a knitted fabric as claimed in claim 19, wherein while the fibers are thus held their free ends are wiped outwardly and rearwardly of the needle cylinder to form a substantially untwisted yarn'exteriorly of and upon the shanks of the needles, and while thus held are wiped inwardly of the needle cylinder so that the remaining free ends of the fibers are presented inwardly of the needle cylinder between the shanks of the-needles and upon the inner face of the fabric.

23. The herein described method of making a circular machine knitted fabric, which consists in knitting-in with a base yarn short loose fibers, and after such knitting-in wiping the free ends of such knitted-in fibers outwardly of the needle cylinder and between the shanks of the needles of the needles of the carrier fibrous material to be knitted in with each yarn formed wale of the knitted web, and means for wiping the thus.

knitted-in fibrous material so that portions thereof are disposed with relation to the needles so as to form a cover for the wales on the rear face of the fabric.

i 28. A fabric knitting machine including in combination a knitting machine having a rotatable needle carrier for making a knitted 'web, means for delivering short loose fibers to the hooks 'of the needles, and means for wiping the loose ends of the needle-held knitted-in fibersin such a direction as to present the loose ends to the rear face of the fabric, whereby as the needles are acted upon to form a succeeding wale such wiped loose ends of the fibers will be knitted in with such wales to cover the rear face of the fabric.

29. A fabric knitting machine as claimed in claim 28, wherein the wiping means is a rotary brush operated in synchrony with the carrier and transversely of the travel of the carrier.

30. An apparatusfor making a knitted fabric,

" including in combination, -a needle carrier,

31. An apparatus for making a knitted fabric as claimed'in claim 30, wherein thelatter means is a brush rotating to engage the free ends of the fibers and brush them.

DAVID PELTON MOORE. 

